Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Tuesday afternoon around 4PM a police RMP (Radio Motor Patrol) was heading uptown on avenue D in the downtown lane . According to witnesses a Cadillac traveling uptown , the same direction as the RMP , on D in the uptown lane attempted to turn left onto 5th street . The police RMP struck the turning vehicle at the front left wheel well and door . The energy of the impact was sufficient to spin the Cadillac through a 180 degree spin and slide it side ways at least 20 feet .

The RMP was damaged in the collision losing at least some control of the front wheels . The damaged out of control RMP careened onto the the side walk where varying witness accounts report 5 or 6 pedestrians were struck . The track of this sidewalk transit can be seen in the trail of smudges ,gouges and scrapes in the street and on the sidewalk in the pictures above .

We do not know why the RMP was in the downtown avenue D lane heading uptown . Judging from the extent of the damage to the 2 vehicles and that the Cadillac was spun 180 degrees and displaced several feet it must have been traveling at significant velocity . Witness accounts differ on whether sirens were heard and whether the RMP's lights were flashing .

NYPD aviation was on the scene to monitor rooftops in the area and police officers were positioned on roof tops to assist in crowd control .

At this time we know that 2 people in the Cadillac were rescued from their vehicle and taken to hospital . The 2 police officers in the RMP were taken to hospital for treatment of head and neck injuries .There were 5 or perhaps 6 pedestrians who were struck by the RMP on the side walk that were taken to hospital also . We do not know the extent of the injuries to any of these individuals .